The Book of Sherry Wines
Bill Bolloten reviews the definitive guide to the complex and diverse world of sherry wines
The Book of Sherry Wines by César Saldaña (Translated by Fiona Flores Watson and Arcadio Saldaña)
Published by Editorial Almuzara (2022)
456 pages
Price: €45.00
Available at Amazon UK for £35.25
(Spanish edition: El libro de Los vinos de Jerez, €37.95)
César Saldaña, the director general of the Consejo Regulador of the DOs Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, has written what is surely the definitive book on sherry wines. It’s a rigorous and fully comprehensive work, yet also accessible and highly readable.
César Saldaña
In setting out his reasons for writing the book, Saldaña recalls his father saying that “you only love what you know”. This underpins his conviction that the dissemination of knowledge about sherry wine will increase both the number of its enthusiasts as well as its consumption.
As all committed sherry drinkers know (and I count myself as one), this is a world where one is continually learning. Saldaña breaks down the complexity of sherry in a way that will appeal to aficionados as well as to the curious and those who want to get further into a wine that is, in his words, “so extraordinarily attractive [with its] infinite palate of colours, aromas and flavours”.
He takes the reader on a journey, starting with the landscapes, cities and people of the Marco de Jerez, a region with a collective identity on which wine production has left an enduring mark.
Subsequent chapters cover sherry viticulture, vinification, the unique phenomenon of flor, the criadera-solera system of ageing, and the characteristics of the different sherry wines. So, if you want a clear explanation of what is a fino, an amontillado, an oloroso or a palo cortado (and other styles too), this should be your go-to work of reference.
Manzanilla, a wine of “extreme uniqueness”, fittingly gets a chapter to itself. The author explains how and why the wine of Sanlúcar differs from fino, along with his definitive advice on verifying the difference: check the label!
The cultural aspects of sherry are also covered at length. What could be more unique than a wine with its own language. A fascinating 27-page glossary of terms originating in the winemaking activity of the Marco de Jerez, or widely used there, is provided. You will learn, for example, that the person in charge of a bodega or vineyard used to have the charming name of capataz de chaqueta (foreman in a jacket).
And I was also interested to discover that working in in a sherry bodega used to have certain advantages, such as unlimited access to the barril de gasto (expenses barrel), a 125-litre cask with a tap which employees could visit during the working day to quench their thirst.
Saldaña goes on to profile his personal selection of notable sherry bodegas, along with their main brands and outstanding wines. Sherry vinegar and brandy de Jerez are also covered.
Lastly, he looks ahead to the future of sherry, including the so-called vinos de pasto, a movement that is rescuing varietals and winemaking methods rooted in the past to create wines with distinct terroir identity. His hope is that these wines will become an established part of the “Jerez family”, not least because they might provide a new gateway into sherry’s oenological universe and its “endless experience”.